Reviewing my portfolio cost yield

New year new beginning.

 

Decided to do a review on the cost yield of my individual holdings since it is one of the most important metrics to me. I'm an income investor afterall.

 

I also looked at the recent trend of the individual counters to see if they are paying more (or less) over the years.

 

Not looking at other fundamentals for this exercise. Any fundamental analysis can easily take up a blog post of its own.

My target yield is minimum 5%.

CapitaLand Investment (CLI) is an exception to the rule. It is a recent addition to the portfolio and the less than 5% yield was already known when I made the move.

I went ahead because at that time I have no other more attractive counters to put my funds in. Also CLI has given dividend in species previously so I felt the 4.58% yield is acceptable.

 

Question

Looking at the results, it is obvious CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) is a laggard both in terms of yield against cost and dividend trend.

It is also the worst performer in my portfolio in terms of capital loss as mentioned here previously.

 

Now the question is what will I do for this counter?

 

Based on today's closing price of $0.805, I am staring at a capital loss of $8,015.42.

 

My cumulative dividends for CLCT over the years amounted to $4,868.91.

 

Hence net loss is $3,146.51.

 

Option 1: Continue to hold and collect dividends while waiting for price to recover.

 

Issue with this is I don't see any catalyst for recovery in the market that CLCT is operating in. Rental reversion for all three asset types is in negative territory. The downtrend of annual dividends is a double whammy. There is also the opportunity cost involved.

On the other hand, there might be some bright spark this year from the ROI of their 5% investment in CapitaLand Commercial C-REIT (CLCR) which is currently trading above IPO price.

Option 2: Sell now and reinvest in other counters or assets. This might be a quicker way to recover my loss.

Issue with this is there are no other dividend counters that are attractive enough to me at the moment. Nevertheless I can put the funds in my US / HK portfolio or gold / silver though that will mean my dividends receivable will take a hit this year.

Action

For now I'm inclined to wait for the next financial update from CLCT before making my move. I'm also interested to see what they will do with the ROI from CLCR investment. If it does not flow down to existing unitholders, I guess I would have more clarity in my decision by then.

Why and how I do multiple jobs concurrently

TL;DR: Short answer is of course for the money. But it is not as hectic as it seems. Everything happens within that 8 - 10 hours of a normal office work. 

Deeper answer is because Covid taught me a very good lesson six years ago.

I founded my current company in 2017. It was a bootstrapped effort since day one. Business was not bad in the first two years. I was beginning to plot my expansion plan including getting a commercial property of my own.

Then Covid struck in the third year of operation (2019) which threw a spanner in the works.

While my business survived the onslaught of the pandemic, it could very well join the statistics of companies that closed down had the pandemic continued for another year or two.

Back then businesses were divided into essential and non-essential services. My company which is in the environmental protection field fell under the latter category which meant we couldn't head outside for sales and projects.

For the 2 years of Covid, our total sales amounted to around $30k. I was basically surviving on the retained earnings from the previous two years before Covid!

Because of this episode, I started to contemplate on having diversified (more) income streams.

I modelled my plan on our national water strategy with the "Four National Taps". If one source goes down I have other sources to back up. 

To kick start my plan I thought about what am I good at and what am I interested in other than my main job. 

Side gig 1:

I have been active in fitness since young. In late 2020, I went to get myself certified as a personal trainer (PT) to better train myself and to earn some extra bucks. 

Despite my zero experience as a PT, a gym chain responded to my resume. Two rounds of interviews later, I got hired.

The boss and my senior trainer are nice guys. They trusted me even though I'm new and my senior made time to give me some practical lessons and tips in handling the clients.

I was initially sent to one of the expat clubs in Singapore to train the clients there. It was a steep learning curve but I learned alot in that one year. 

After that I was brought back to the original club where I've been working now for the past three years or so. 

For this arrangement, I received a cut for every session I coached. I usually do between 40 - 60 sessions every month. 

Moving forward to today, I am also training my own clients outside the gym now. 

These clients are usually recommended to me by their family member or friend who shared my service by word of mouth as I do not actively advertise myself. 

For this side gig, I only do for weekday mornings.

A side benefit of this gig is that I get to use a top notch gym for free for my own training. Shiok! 

Side gig 2:

Somewhere around 2022, I signed up for a Master's programme from NUS to deepen and to bridge the gaps in my knowledge related to my course of work. 

It was a part time course held in the evenings which means the time and commitment were pretty heavy.

It was assignments and projects almost every week for that 2 year course. 

Since completing the programme in 2024, I have been looking out for opportunities to monetise it. Last year one of my contacts recommended me to an adjunct teaching position in one of our local IHLs. 

I am open to adjunct teaching because I felt this aligns with my idea of contributing back to the society. The module is also related to my Master's and my field of work. Importantly, it also allows me to create another stream of income.

So I went for the interview which included a mock teaching session to the other lecturers.

I got accepted by the IHL soon after and upon getting the clearance from MOE, I was offered the contract as an adjunct lecturer. 

Salary-wise is quite comparable to what I am charging for my private PT sessions. 

I started on this side gig since October last year and I am only teaching two classes once a week on the same day which works out to be four hours of teaching per week. 

Other income stream:

To keep this short, the main contributor is from the dividends from my local portfolio.

Currently the annual dividend receivable is about $12k.

Final thoughts:

I'm not a superman unlike what some fellow forummers said. I'm just a normal Singaporean guy trying to future proof myself. 

While having three jobs concurrently seem like a busy schedule, the main bulk of all the works happens within 7 am to 6 pm on weekdays with breakfast, lunch and teabreak thrown in. Holidays and weekends are off limits.

This is quite similar to the average employees. 

Also what I'm doing are essentially my interests.

My main job and adjunct teaching are related to sustainability. My PT role is related to fitness.

I am doing what I love and I love what I do. 

I consider myself fortunate.

Last but not least, not withstanding the above I am constantly exploring other sources of regular income stream. Hopefully the next exciting one comes soon. 

Wrapping Up for 2025

Quick wrap up for a year that flew past for me. 

 

Family

This year we went to Bali again for our year end holiday. We stayed 4 nights at the mountainous region of Ubud this time which we really love (last year we stayed entirely at Kuta). Our room opens up to this view:

On the last 2 days we stayed at Kuta to be nearer to the airport. We managed to visit Waterbom Bali this time. I suspect I might just make Bali a yearly visit from now on 🤭.

School work-wise, daughter got an award for Mathematics at the end of school year. Guess it's a good end for her Primary 1.

 

I've never been worried about her school work. It's her stubbornness and temper that I'm concerned with. I seriously think she inherited those from me.

Son's also getting better at being focus at his work. I would like to think his happy-go-lucky character is a blessing.

 

I will be very happy as long as they remain healthy and develop good character. The latter is always my focus when I'm teaching them.

Work

My company remains the main focus. It has been 8 years since I started the business bootstrapped. While it has its ups and downs through the years including surviving Covid, our mission in providing solutions in emission control and protecting our planet never change.

I would consider 2025 a so-so year for the company. While the numbers are not that great compared to past years, the highlights are constant repeat orders from a client - a testament to their trust in us, and a breakthrough into the public sector with a prominent government agency onboard.

I'm looking forward to 2026.

Side line 1:

My side gig as a personal trainer yields better than expected income for 2025. While I was aiming for $20k from this in the beginning of the year, the actual income achieved amounted to $23,640.

 

Not bad considering I only dedicate weekday mornings to this.

This is helped by the signing up of a private client who was introduced to me by her family member who in turn was already training with me.

I find this really fulfilling.

In fact another of his family member contacted me yesterday to enquire about my training schedule.

 

Side line 2:

 

I just embarked on this in October 2025, as an adjunct lecturer in a local IHL. I am only taking two classes per week for now. Income achieved amounted to $2,000.

I'm starting to get the hang of teaching and the administrative work but I must say this side gig is taking too much of my time. Way more than what I expected.

I will most likely continue for the next semester which should be less of a learning curve by then.

CPF

Throughout the year I have made voluntary cash top up to my CPF SA. Total top ups amounted to $5,590. These are taken from the side gig incomes.

In December I also made a transfer from OA to SA to achieve the FRS amount. This is done to take advantage of the higher interest in SA in order to further secure my retirement expenses.

Of course the downside is I have lesser amount to use should I decide to purchase another property in the near future. It is because of this consideration that I have taken so long to make this decision.

Personal Social Responsibility

 

For this year, my choice of causes remain the same: the young, the elderly and the environment.

 

This is just a small gesture to contribute back to the society on a regular basis.

 

Other than this yearly donation habit, part of the reason why I went into adjunct teaching is also to inspire the younger generation. I am teaching the subject of sustainability which is my area of expertise and which is closely related to my work and passion.

If I can motivate more young people to live sustainably and equip them with the knowledge to do so, there is a better chance our future generations can have a decent quality of life.

 

"Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (Brundtland Commission)

 

Last but not least, my wife and I also donated our household CDC vouchers to Tzu-Chi Foundation (Singapore).

 

Investment

2025 was a mini breakthrough year for me in terms of dividends.

For the first time since tracking, my annual dividends collected crossed the 5 figure mark.

My number of holdings increased to 12 counters. A number not seen since years back.

I invested about $29k in 2025 which is more than the estimated $20k figure foresaw in the beginning of the year. This amount is largely from my side gig incomes. I didn't really touch my savings or main income for investment this year.

Local portfolio value also hit a new high of $235k.

Cumulative dividends since tracking amounted to $62,714.56.

Total portfolio value (SG, HK, US) amounted to $257k.

In December the last batch of dividends came in from SingTel ($656), MIT ($286.20) and MLT ($295.86).

I also bought CapitaLand Invest (CLI) @ 2.61 in December. This feels like a renewed relationship as I have sold this counter few years back when it was still known as CapitaLand.

 

For non-REITS, other than CLI I also bought ComfortDelGro (CDG) and Venture this year. Lastly I also added more DBS and OCBC.

 

For CDG it's another reacquaintance.

 

Best performers in 2025:

 

1) DBS (+131.22%)

2) OCBC (+108.49%)

3) SingTel (+41.90%)

Worst performers in 2025:

1) CLCT (-41.39%)

2) MLT (-5.73%)

3) MIT (-4.89%)

 

CLCT continued to be the worst performer. Same position as last year although there is a slight improvement compared to 2024 (-46.24%).

For the last two years I have tried to divert my portfolio away from REITs by adding other equities. In 2026, I will adopt a more balanced view with a mixture of both asset classes as I feel the worse is over for REITs.

Having said that I will still be prudent with my cash by holding a certain percentage of it due to the present geopolitical risks and the whims of Trump. This will be achieved by only investing from my side incomes while leaving my main income and savings untouched. Same strategy as 2025.

I will probably only deploy the latter income sources if (a) a compelling buy case arises or (b) more clarity on the geopolitical situations arise e.g. concrete end of the wars, step down of office by Trump, etc. However the trick is to remain nimble as is always the case in investing especially so in this era where dynamics change ever so quickly.

For the US / HK portfolio, I will continue to concentrate force on the tech sector since my outlay is relatively small for too many counters. In the US market, I will continue to build a position in MSFT and NVDA. For HK market, I might add more 9988 if it hits $120.

Talking about MSFT, it is the second multi-bagger achieved in this portfolio with a P&L of +179.18%.

Worst performer: PYPL (-68.44%)

November 2025 Updates (Mini Milestone)

Investment

 

Received total dividends of $779.55 from Netlink NBN Trust and DBS in November.

 

NLT: $284.55

DBS: $495

With these, I have hit a mini milestone in my investment. Annual dividend received crossed the $10k mark.

This is not a surprise though as I have anticipated this at the beginning of the year based on the portfolio growth and the expected amount of capital injection I have planned to do for the year.

 

What's nice is there is one more month to go and I am expecting further dividends to come in from MLT, MIT and SingTel in December. This should bump up the total dividends received by another 10% or so.

For this month, I have also added DBS on a dip @ $53.80. This is a huge average up from my existing holding cost of $19.85. The confidence to do this stems from the business performance and management pedigree that I've seen in DBS.

 

With this addition, my average cost now stands at $24.39.

 

I still have about $3k of balanced cash from this month's warchest. Hope to deploy it soon.

Side Gig and Others

 

Started my second side gig as an adjunct lecturer in one of our local IHLs in October.

 

In this month I received my maiden salary from this gig.

 

Income distribution plan is roughly the same as my other gig. 25% of this income goes to my CPF SA. 25% goes to my discretionary spending. 50% goes to my investment pool.

 

For this month I also received the $390 cash from a credit card signup I did in July 2025. Nice bonus towards the end of the year.

 

Surprise Find

 

Was digging through my room to find my birth certificate as my mum wishes to transfer her shares in CDP to me for easier management.

 

However I can't find my birth cert anywhere.

 

Anyone knows what else I can furnish to CDP to prove my relationship to my mum?

 

On the other hand look I've found these surprises during my digging!

 

Posting here for nostalgia sake.

 

Are these worth any money these days?

 

 

 

 

September 2025 Updates

September is traditionally a bountiful month for me in terms of dividends received. This year is no different.

 

Total of $1,720.02 is received from the following:

 

1) Ascendas Reit @ $137.72

2) MIT @ $261.60

3) MLT @ $295.37

4) Venture @ $150

5) CICT @ $501.84

6) CLCT @ $373.50

 

This brings the dividends received YTD to just shy of $10k.

 

In the local market, I did not made any transaction. Applied for 10,000 units of Centurion Accomodation Reit (CA Reit) but got zero allocation. Did introduced this IPO to a friend and he got allocated 1,000 units. Instant profit if he were to cash out now like the institutional investors.

 

I am not surprised at the popularity of this counter though. Was telling my friend I rated NTT DC Reit a 4 out of 10 previously and CA Reit is at least a 7 or 8 for me.

 

In fact I had already set my mind to apply for this IPO halfway through the prospectus.

 

Nevertheless one thing I've learnt from the market over the years is that opportunity always comes back.

 

I guess this time round I didn't get allocated for a reason. But I will be monitoring closely for the chance to add when it arises.

 

In the US market, I averaged up on NVDA by adding @ $170.88 to my existing holding. This one is a keeper and I'm pretty sure it will be the next multi-bagger for me after MSFT.

 

Work-wise, I also received the confirmation letter for my 2nd side hustle. From October onwards I will be teaching in one of our local institution of higher learning as an adjunct lecturer.

 

Hope it will be a fun and enriching journey for me and the students. If it turns out well, I will dedicate more hours to this in subsequent semesters.

 

See how it goes. Excited.

My review of XTEP 2000 KM 3.0

Writing this review to serve as a marker for my first run in this shoes.

For the longest time, my go to brand for running shoes has always been tried and tested Asics, which has served me well for my marathons, half marathons and other races.

Recently I bought a pair of XTEP 2000 KM 3.0 to try out as my current Asics Cumulus is wearing out.

I have heard good reviews about chinese brand running shoes recently and after doing my own research, I narrowed down to this brand and model.

I believe this is their basic model. 

I bought it from their official store in Shopee during 9/9 sale and it costs me $60.46 after vouchers and discounts. At such price point for such quality, there's really nothing much to complain about. 

So today I finally brought it out for some trial runs.

I'm still feeling the burn in my hamstrings and glutes from yesterday's leg day so I only managed to do some slow runs to get a feel. I'm also still in my gym attire from this morning - tee and cotton shorts, not the best attire for a run. Lol.

Anyway I tried it out on both the PCN and roadside. After that I also did some intervals on the PCN.

First impression upon wearing the shoes is they are light. Noticeably lighter than my current Cumulus. 

The shoes provided the stability during the run. Friction is also good.

Didn't really feel the touted rebound though. 

Need to try it out for a long run and wet surface soon.

Would also be interesting to see how long it can last. 

In summary, would I recommend buying this pair of shoes? Definitely, be it for your only pair of running shoes or as a second pair for alternate wearing. 

At such price point, I think it's hard to find another brand with equivalent specifications. Other chinese brands maybe? 

Performance-wise, I'm pretty sure this pair can help me run faster if I have rested enough. 

Design-wise, I feel this is one of their biggest plus points. I love the design and colour scheme. Although my first choice colour was Moonstone Blue which ran out of stock, I am satisfied with this pair too. 

I'm wearing size 46 for my Asics and I bought size 45 for my XTEP. It fits perfectly.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with XTEP except for being a satisfied customer (so far).

P.s. Having said that, I don't mind a collaborative post too if you feel we can be a good fit (no pun intended). 

Shout out to @XTEP! 

August 2025 Updates

For the month of August, I bought MIT @ $1.99 and Comfortdelgro @ $1.47.

The former is a continuing accumulation to build up my existing position when price dips. With this addition, MIT now occupies 8.75% of the portfolio based on market value.

The latter is a reentry since I sold it 8 years ago. Bought it post XD as the price felt comfortable for a first tranche, dividend yield has become attractive and business fundamentals & outlook are improving.

This month also seen dividends received from

OCBC @ $476.42

DBS @ $495

SingTel @ $800

Total: $1,771.42

Looking forward to next month's dividends. 

Local portfolio value and P&L excluding dividends:

I also transferred $19,999 to DBS fixed deposit with 2.45% interest.

Had a rather unpleasant experience at Punggol Coast Mall Fairprice Finest with my family yesterday.

We were at the 2nd floor doing our shopping and an auntie promoter at the 'Europe' shelving offered my 5 year old a sample.

My son declined as he will always ask me or my wife for permission before accepting things from strangers. 

What irks me is that I heard the promoter told my son to stop looking if he does not want the sample.

After that my son came back to me and I squatted down to ask him what did the promoter said to him. From the corner of my eye I saw the promoter crept up and hid behind one of the shelves near us to eavesdrop on our conversation.

When my son told me the exact words that I heard earlier, I had wanted to go to confront the promoter but my two kids stopped me, saying they are afraid I would be taken away by the police. That gave me a chuckle.

Nevertheless I happened to see the Fairprice store manager and feedback to her about the incident.

Her empathy, professionalism and prompt action are exemplary and show why she deserves to be a manager.

Two ladies, two poles apart in behaviour. 

Anyway writing this to let off some steam.

Thanks for reading.